Acuity Brands - AYI Short Interest Ratio & Short Volume

Short interest is the volume of Acuity Brands shares that have been sold short but have not yet been closed out or covered. As of February 28th, traders have sold 1,420,000 shares of AYI short. 4.44% of Acuity Brands' shares are currently sold short. Learn More on Acuity Brands' current short interest.

The short interest ratio, also known as the "days to cover ratio", is calculated by dividing the number of shares of a stock sold short divided by its average trading volume. A short interest ratio ranging between 1 and 4 generally indicates strong positive sentiment about a stock and a lack of short sellers. A short interest ratio of 10 or greater indicates strong pessimism about a stock. AYI shares currently have a short interest ratio of 6.0. Learn More on Acuity Brands's short interest ratio.

As of the most recent reporting period, the following institutional investors, funds, and major shareholders have reported short positions of Acuity Brands: Jane Street Group LLC, Susquehanna International Group LLP, Twin Tree Management LP, and Concourse Financial Group Securities Inc.. These positions are disclosed in Form 13F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Companies that have a short interest as a percentage of float below 10% indicates positive investor sentiment and few short sellers. Stocks with a short interest percentage above 10% is considered high, suggesting some investors are pessimistic about the stock. Companies with a short interest percentage of 20% or more indicates widespread negative sentiment. 4.44% of Acuity Brands' floating shares are currently sold short.

Acuity Brands saw a increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totaling 1,420,000 shares, an increase of 2.2% from the previous total of 1,390,000 shares. Changes in short volume can be used to identify positive and negative investor sentiment. Investors that short sell a stock are betting that its price will decline in the future. An increase in short sale volume suggests bearish (negative) sentiment among investors. A decrease on short sale volume suggests bullish (positive) sentiment.

Acuity Brands currently has issued a total of 32,050,000 shares. Some of Acuity Brands' outstanding shares are available for trading, while others are subject to various restrictions. The public float, also referred to as floating shares or "the float", are shares that publicly owned, unrestricted and available to trade on the open market. Acuity Brands currently has a public float of 31,980,000 shares.

4.44% of Acuity Brands' shares are currently sold short. Here is how the short interest of companies in the sector of "construction" compare to Acuity Brands: Altair Engineering Inc. (3.21%), TopBuild Corp. (3.14%), Trex Company, Inc. (6.11%), ChampionX Co. (3.92%), Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (1.62%), Toll Brothers, Inc. (5.03%), Eagle Materials Inc. (2.31%), Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (5.13%), AAON, Inc. (1.46%), and UFP Industries, Inc. (1.86%).

As of the most recent reporting period, the following stocks had the largest short interest positions: Suncor Energy Inc. ($3.27 billion), Occidental Petroleum Co. ($2.77 billion), Coinbase Global, Inc. ($2.25 billion), T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. ($2.23 billion), Paramount Global ($1.92 billion), Etsy, Inc. ($1.75 billion), Voya Financial, Inc. ($1.74 billion), CarMax, Inc. ($1.62 billion), Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. ($1.62 billion), and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ($1.39 billion). View all of the most shorted stocks.

Short selling AYI is an investing strategy that aims to generate trading profit from Acuity Brands as its price is falling. AYI shares are trading down $4.70 today. To short a stock, an investor borrows shares, sells them and buys the shares back on the public market later to return it to the lender. Short sellers are betting that a stock will decline in price. If the stock does drop after selling, the short seller buys it back at a lower price and returns it to the lender. The difference between the sell price and the buy price is the trader's profit.

A short squeeze for Acuity Brands occurs when it has a large amount of short interest and its stock appreciates in price. This forces short sellers to cover their short interest positions by buying actual shares of AYI, which in turn drives the price of the stock up even further.

Short interest is typically published by a stock exchange once per month. However, NASDAQ publishes a report for U.S. stocks, including AYI, twice per month. The most recent reporting period available is February, 28 2023.